Data Analyst Program

Portfolio · Week 3 of 4 · 6 hours

Exploratory Analysis, Dashboard Creation and Business Insights

Turn each project's analysis into visuals and insights a hiring manager will remember.

Learning objectives

By the end of this week you will be able to:

  • Select the most important exploratory findings for each project.
  • Build or polish a dashboard for each project and publish it online where possible.
  • Write finding, insight and recommendation statements.
  • Keep a consistent, professional visual style across projects.

Lessons

Exploratory Analysis

You will find many things during EDA, but a portfolio should feature only the three to five findings that matter most for each project. Ask: which findings answer the SMART questions, and which would change a decision? Put the rest in an appendix section of the notebook.

Dashboard Creation

Each project should have one visual centerpiece, a dashboard or a small set of polished charts. Make them easy to view:

  • Tableau Public lets anyone view an interactive dashboard in the browser for free.
  • Power BI "Publish to web" creates a public link, but it may be switched off by your organization and makes the data fully public. If it is not available, include screenshots and the .pbix file.
  • Excel: include the workbook and a clear screenshot.

Use the same color palette and fonts across all three projects; it makes the portfolio feel like one professional body of work.

Business Insights

Hiring managers want to see that you think about the business, not just the tools. For every project, write a short executive summary (three to five sentences) at the top of the README and in the dashboard:

  1. The question.
  2. The main answer, with a number.
  3. The recommendation.
  4. The expected impact or how to measure success.

Example: "Weekend casual riders make up 41% of rides but only 8% convert to members. Offering a seasonal weekend pass at the 10 busiest tourist stations could convert an estimated 1,500 riders. Track sign-ups monthly."

Watch

Practice

For each of your three projects, choose the top findings, finish the dashboard (published online where possible) and write a four-sentence executive summary.

Check your understanding

Try each question first, then open it to see the answer.

How many findings should a portfolio project feature?

Three to five of the most important.

What are the four parts of the executive summary?

The question, the main answer with a number, the recommendation, and the expected impact or measure of success.

Why use the same style across projects?

It makes the portfolio look like one professional body of work.

Assignment

Submit dashboard links or screenshots and executive summaries for all three projects.